Fawkes
by AnteaterFang
Summary: Fawkes has lived in Dumbledore's study for a long time. But where did she come from and what is she doing there? Is she just Dumbledore's pet? Or something more? (A/N: I'm not exactly sure if Fawkes is a girl, but in this story she is)


Prolougue: Fawkes

Strolling into my office, my long white beard trailing behind me, I sat down in the cushiony purple armchair behind my desk and turned the lamp on with a flick of my wand. The glow from the pensive came from the corner of the room, reminding me of many things that would take too long to name. I stroked Fawkes's feathers fondly, relaxing for a moment. Today had been a long day. But there was more to come. I must not let myself forget that. No matter how much I wanted to.

I glanced down at my old, wrinkled hands. I shouldn't be alive, I thought. I knew it. When Severus knocked me off of the tower a few years ago, I should have died. But I didn't. Why? It was because of a secret. The secret of the fourth Hallow. I told myself to tell someone about it. But did I listen? No. Of course I didn't. When have I ever?

Tearing my gaze away , I looked back down at Fawkes. She looked up at me with innocent golden eyes. Here, again, was another secret. No one but myself knew who Fawkes really was. Who she used to be. I doubted even she herself knew. Phoenixes, however magical they may be, don't have the best of memories. But, now, I knew the time had come to change her back. She could only survive for so long as a Phoenix. Fawkes had been losing her feathers and burning up more and more often lately; a sign that she was about to die.

Using all the strength I could muster, I stared intently at Fawkes's bright golden eyes. She stared back. I braced myself, knowing what would happen next. Or at least what I hoped would happen next. For a couple of seconds, I felt nothing. But then Fawkes's dark pupils began to grow bigger. Until they filled her eyes, her face, the entire room. And I was falling through the darkness. Falling….. falling…. falling…

And then I saw a light at the end of the blackness. It started out small, and then slowly became larger until I felt myself tumbling into it. The sudden light seared my eyes. They felt as though they were burning up. But the feeling was sudden. It soon passed. When I regained my sight, I saw that I was in a kitchen. The kitchen of the house where I used to live. I knew this was one of Fawkes's memories. To my left stood a girl with her back turned to me. She had bright blond hair and pale skin and was wearing a bright blue shirt and dark pants. I recognized her as my sister, Ariana. Surprisingly, no emotions went through my head when I saw her. I would have expected myself to be happy. Perhaps it was because I knew perfectly well that this was only a memory. Or perhaps it was because….. Well, because of something else.

Suddenly, shouts sounded from outside the window. Ariana had heard them to and she rushed to the window, glanced out of it, and quickly ran out the door. Even though I knew what would happen, I felt dread rush through me as I followed her.

Outside, I saw that what used to be a garden had been destroyed. Plants had been uprooted and strewn all over the garden, and there were long gashes in the dirt. I winced. Standing in the middle of the wreckage stood two wizards, both bleeding heavily and, both of whom I recognized. One was me and the other, my old friend Grindelwald. Oh no….., I thought. Not this memory…

Suddenly, I saw my brother, Aberforth, run out from behind the house. "Don't you dare go with him, Albus! Don't you dare leave your sister behind! You've always put _your_ life over everyone else's! Stop this, Albus!" he yelled furiously at the memory Albus.

"Oh what do you know about it, Aberforth! You're just jealous because you were never as smart or clever as I!" cried Albus. I buried my head in my hands. I couldn't rematch this. I couldn't believe I had ever acted like that.

"Albus, we've been planning this for months! It's our life's dream! And now you're telling me you want to walk away from it?! How could you do this to me?" shouted Grindelwald with vehemence. "I'm your best friend!"

Albus yelled," I'm not going to walk away from…!"

"But how could you…!," Aberforth shouted.

I closed my eyes. I knew what was going to happen next. I heard three voices yell at the top of their lungs, I heard Ariana scream, and the next thing I knew, everything was silent. As quiet as death. Quieter even. The birds had stopped singing and the plants, growing. The winds had died down. And when I opened my eyes, everything seemed to be disproportioned and out of the second time in my life, I saw Ariana laying dead upon the ground. Around her crouched the memory Albus, Aberforth, and Grindelwald. Two of them had tears leaking out of their eyes.

After a couple seconds, Grindelwald got up and started walking towards the forest. As he neared the first tree, he glanced backwards in what may have been a sign of respect, but as he walked on, I saw a new gleam in his eye.

A few minutes later, Aberforth walked away, back towards the house. Right before he went into the house, he glared at the memory Albus. "It's all your fault," he muttered savagely. His eyes burned with hatred. But Albus didn't even look up.

Hours later, Albus was still sitting there; kneeling by the dead Ariana. Though I couldn't see or hear it, I knew what he was thinking, as I had once been him. He was thinking about all the research he had done in his search for the Hallows, and he was thinking about how he had heard of some types of magical animals's heart only beat once every few hours. After all, she was only just killed and, as it had been by magic, her lungs, heart, and brain should all be working fine. So maybe if he could come up with an excuse for why her heart hadn't beat in so long, then, well, maybe… maybe…

The memory Albus seemed to come to his decision. Using a complicated wand movement, he transformed Ariana'a body into a beautiful phoenix. To his surprise, after only a few moments, the phoenix rose slowly into the air and began to sing. Life seemed to come back to the Earth. The sun was rising.

And then, suddenly, I was laying on the cold floor of my office. I slowly got up and, as I did so, I felt the hair on the back of my neck prickle. I wipped around and there I same a girl with blond hair and pale skin watching me. But what I noticed first were her eyes. They were so different than the golden ones of Fawkes. They were an intense chocolate brown flecked with blue. Those eyes belonged to only one person. They were Ariana's eyes.


End file.
